Kolks



K. KOLKS Feb. 7. 1956 CONTAINER FOR MOIST OR STICKY MATERIALS, FOREXAMPLE COAL Filed April 4. 1952 M4 rim 5 m United States PatentCONTAINER FOR MOIST OR STICKY MATERIALS, FOR EXAMPLE COAL Karl Kolks,Essen-Rellinghausen, Germany, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Koppers Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Delaware Application April 4, 1952, Serial No. 280,582

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-195) The present invention relates to supplycontainers for moist or sticky materials, for example coal, whichcontainers are formed or equipped to provide a hopper having an outletopening, as for top charging coking chambers of oven batteries.

The cross-sectional area of this discharge outlet opening in supplycontainers is limited according to the purpose for which the dischargedmaterial is to be used. Thus, for example the discharge outlet openingsof supply containers for coal which is to be charged into oven chambersto be coked therein can only have a relatively small cross-sectionalarea in view of the narrow width of the oven chambers themselves. Wheresuch containers or bunkers are used for the accommodation of coal ofmoist or sticky characteristics, the latter cannot be passed unassistedthrough the narrow outlet opening. A series of prior proposals havetherefore been made which consist in the arrangement of more or lesscomplicated mechanical pusher or poker devices inside the supplycontainer.

To discharge moist or adhesive materials from a supply container with anarrow outlet opening it is of primary importance to clear the materialswhich become packed so as to form a sort of plug for this opening, inthe lower part of the hopper, above the outlet opening, and under theweight of the super-imposed material, whereby the material cansubsequently flow out in a continuous stream. The invention is based onthis principle and consists substantially in the arrangement in thepassageway to the outlet opening of the container a conduit for thesupply of a gaseous pressure medium. Advantageously this pressure mediumconduit terminates at a distance from the outlet opening of the supplycontainer which is such that, when the plugforming pack of coal or thelike located therebelow is blown out under pressure, the coal is able torun down from the upper part of the container and be discharged.

In carrying the invention into efiect a deflector member is convenientlyarranged in association with the pressure medium discharge aperture fromsaid conduit and is adapted to spread the issuing medium over a widerarea than'the cross-sectional area of the lower hopper discharge outletopening. As a result coal which has become tightly compressed in thelower part of the hopperform bottom of the container will also bepositively discharged, as that surmounted coal can readily run down theinclined surface of the hopper for subsequent discharge.

The deflector member in question may be preferably in the form of a conewhich is arranged in spaced relationship With said discharge aperture.

According to a further feature of the invention the pressure mediumconduit is disposed in an outer conduit of larger cross sectional areathan the pressure medium conduit which outer conduit acts as an airchamber.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of examplein the accompanying drawing, which 2,733,840 Patented Feb. 7, 1956 is avertical cross section through a supply container of hopper-like formembodying the invention.

At its lower part, the supply container 1 illustrated tapers to form ahopper-form bottom 2 having an outlet opening 3 closed by a slidingplate 4.

Projecting into the container 1 in superposed spaced relation above theoutlet 3 is an inner conduit 5, the discharge outlet of which terminatesabove the outlet opening 3 and is located approximately in the verticalmedial plane of the latter. The conduit 5 is connected externally of thecontainer to a line through which compressed air is supplied, thissupply line being regulated by a valve 6. Disposed around conduit 5 isan outer conduit 11 of a larger diameter which is closed at the top by aflange 7.

At its lower end the conduit 11 is connected by stays 8 with a conicaldeflector 9. This deflector 9 is situated a short distance from thelower discharge outlet end of the inner pressure medium conduit 5 and isso dimensioned and has its surfaces so inclined that the compressed airissuing from the pipe conduit 5 flows downwardly and outwardly, throughopenings 10 between the end of conduit 11 and the deflector cone 9, inthe direction of the arrows and forcibly against the lowerhopper-forming surfaces of the container bottom 2.

On opening the closure plate 4 it is generally found that only a smallpart of a stored quantity of caking-type coal becomes detached above thesliding plate and falls through, the rest remaining in situ as indicatedby the arch 12 in dotted lines in the drawing. The packed coal locatedin the lower part of the hopper-form bottom 2 is now, however, blown outby the compressed air introduced through conduit 5. When the coal isconsequently broken up and starts to run down from the upper part of thehopper and pass through the opening 3, the supply of compressed air canbe interrupted.

In the case of charging mechanisms which are adapted to be driven, asconventional in top charging of horizontal coke oven batteries, fromchamber to chamber along the tops of coking chamber ovens 13, acompressed air connection, as required for the above inner conduit 5,can readily be provided by a hose connection of the line external to thecontainer with a compressed air pipe arranged on the oven battery.

What I claim is:

l. A supply hopper for gravity discharge of moist or adherent materials,e. g., coal, comprising: a feed hopper with a lower gravity dischargeoutlet opening of small cross-sectional area as compared with the upperreservoir portion of the hopper, and a stationary pneumatic inletconduit for the supply of gaseous pressure medium having an open endedlower discharge outlet disposed at a fixed region at a spaced distance,and axially, above the lower discharge outlet opening of the hopper,combined with a deflector member in said hopper, said deflector memberbeing disposed below the lower open discharge outlet of the pneumaticinlet conduit with a continuous free space therebetween which opensunrestrictedly into the surrounding area of the hopper, and saiddeflector having a maximum horizontal dimension that is but a minorportion of the horizontal area of the portion of the hopper in which thedeflector member is disposed, and being arranged in such close spacedrelation beneath the pressure medium discharge outlet of the conduitthat fluid on issuing from the discharge outlet opening of the conduitmust first strike the deflector and be spread laterally outwardly by thedeflector over a wider area of the container interior than thecross-sectional area of the lower hopper outlet opening, beforecontacting material in the container, and said deflector and the lowerdischarge outlet of the pneumatic inlet conduit being disposed above thelower outlet from the hopper at an elevation relative thereto at whichthe fluid from said conduit is forcibly deflected by the deflectoragainst the lower hopper forming surfaces of the hopper higher up abovethe lower outlet opening.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and in which the deflector is in theform of a cone which has its apex at a level below the lower level ofthe conduit outlet, and its base below the apex.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and in which the pressure mediumconduit is arranged in a straight line and extends upwardly externallyof the container axially of the lower outlet for the hopper; and inwhich the conduit is enclosed inside the container in an outer conduitwhich likewise extends in a straight line axially of the lower hopperoutlet to at least the top of the container, and is of a cross-sectionalarea that is but a minor portion of the cross-sectional area of thecross-sectional area of the hopper, but is of larger cross-sectionalarea than the pressure 4 medium conduit, and forms an air chambertherearound, and in which the deflector is in the form of a cone havingits apex below the pressure medium conduit and its base below the apex,and of a cross-sectional area less than that of the outer conduit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,029,273 Butler June 11, 1912 1,390,974 Von Porat Sept. 13, 19211,678,225 Kincade July 24, 1928 1,819,756 Reed Aug. 18, 1931 1,971,852Goebels Aug. 28, 1934 2,272,442 Tamminga Feb. 10, 1942 2,534,253 FashDec. 19, 1950 2,652,175 Davis Sept. 15, 1953

1. A SUPPLY HOPPER FOR GRAVITY DISCHARGE OF MOIST OR ADHERENT MATERIALS,E.G., COAL COMPRISING: A FEED HOPPER WITH THE LOWER GRAVITY DISCHARGEOUTLET OPENING OF SMALLY CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AS COMPARED WITH THE UPPERRESERVOIR PORTON OF THE HOPPER, AND A STATIONARY PNEUMATIC INLET CONDUITFOR THE SUPPLY OF GASEOUS PRESSURE MEDIUM HAVING AN OPEN ENDED LOWERDISCHARGE OUTLET DISPOSED AT A FIXED REGION AT A SPACED DISTANCE, ANDAXIALLY, ABOVE THE LOWER DISCHARGE OUTLET OPENING OF TE HOPPER, COMBINEDWITH A DEFLECTOR MEMBER IN SAID HOPPER, SAID DEFLECTOR MEMBER BEINGDISPOSED BELOW THE LOWER OPEN DISCHARGE OUTLET OF THE PNEUMATIC INLETCONDUIT WITH A CONTINUOUS FREE SPACE THEREBETWEEN WHICH OPENSUNRESTRICTEDLY INTO THE SURROUNDING AREA OF THE HOPPER, AND SAIDDEFLECTOR HAVING A MAXIMUM HORIZONTAL DIMENSION THAT IS BUT A MINORPORTION OF THE HORIZONTAL ARE OF THE PORTION OF THE HOOPER IN WHICH THEDEFLECTOR MEMBER IS DISPOSED, AND BEING ARRANGED IN SUCH CLOSE SPACEDRELATION BENEATH THE